Everyone seems to be looking for a sense

大家似乎都在尋找一種感覺

for where they stand in the world.

為他們在世界上的地位。

A reference point on which to ground ourselves.

一個可以立足的參考點。

A mental map.

一張心理圖。

When we think of our mental maps

當我們想到我們的心理地圖

of the actual world, however,

的實際世界，但。

that is, our intuitive sense for the shape

也就是我們對形狀的直觀感受。

and relative position of places on the planet,

和地球上各地方的相對位置。

it may surprise you to learn that they're a bit off.

你可能會驚訝地發現，他們有點不對勁。

Many peoples mental maps of Earth, in fact,

很多人的地球心理地圖，其實。

share the same, fairly significant errors.

分享同樣的，相當大的誤差。

Relative positions, sizes,

相對位置，大小。

and even the existence of minor locations

甚至是小地點的存在

may be totally off-base.

可能會完全偏離基地。

The good news is, it's not your fault.

好消息是，這不是你的錯。

One reason for a skewed mental picture of the world

歪曲的世界心理圖景的原因之一。

is our brains taking shortcuts.

是我們的大腦在走捷徑。

Our minds try to simplify the layout

我們的大腦試圖簡化佈局

of highly detailed things.

的高度詳細的東西。

Such as, the locations of cities

例如，城市的位置

and countries around the world.

和世界各國。

But these shortcuts may not always be accurate.

但這些捷徑不一定準確。

Take, for example, South America.

以南美洲為例。

Many may think it's located more

很多人可能覺得它的位置比較

or less directly south of North America,

北美洲正南或更少。

with Chile corresponding roughly to California.

與智利大致對應的是加州。

If you flew straight south from Los Angeles, however,

不過，如果你從洛杉磯直飛南下。

you wouldn't hit land again until Antarctica.

在南極洲之前，你不會再上岸。

In reality, all of continental South America

實際上，整個南美洲大陸

is located east of Florida.

位於佛羅里達州東部。

In this way, North and South America

這樣一來，北美洲和南美洲

could also be accurately named

也可稱為

west and east America, respectively.

分別是美國西部和東部。

These mental misconceptions aren't limited to the Americas.

這些心理誤區並不限於美洲。

Do you think of Africa as being largely

你認為非洲在很大程度上是

in the Southern Hemisphere?

在南半球？

Perhaps it's similar latitudes as South America?

也許是和南美洲的緯度相近？

In fact, the vast majority of Africa

事實上，非洲絕大多數地區

is north of the equator.

是赤道以北。

I bet you never realized

我打賭你從來沒有意識到

that Disney World in Orlando, Florida

迪斯尼世界

is closer to the equator

靠近赤道

than the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt.

比埃及的吉薩大金字塔。

Europe is also much further north than many people realize.

歐洲也比很多人意識到的更北。

A line drawn west out of London, England

一條從英國倫敦向西劃出的線

would never touch the 48 contiguous states.

不會觸及48個毗連州。

Paris is actually further north than Montreal.

巴黎其實比蒙特利爾更北。

Barcelona is around the same latitude as Chicago.

巴塞羅那和芝加哥的緯度差不多。

Our mental image of Europe being further south

我們對歐洲更南邊的心理印象

than it actually is, may have to do with its weather.

比實際情況，可能與它的天氣有關。

Europe has what's called a Mediterranean climate.

歐洲有所謂的地中海氣候。

The result of warm air crossing the Atlantic

暖空氣穿越大西洋的結果

via the Gulf Stream.

通過灣流。

This means that many European cities

這意味著，許多歐洲城市

have climates that those of us in the Americas

有我們美洲人所不具備的氣候條件

associate with lower latitudes.

與低緯度地區相關聯。

When we think about the weather in say, Venice,

當我們想到比如說威尼斯的天氣。

we don't expect it to be located

我們不指望它位於

further north than Toronto, but it is.

比多倫多更北，但它是。

A skewed sense of the world

歪曲的世界觀

isn't just our brain's fault for taking shortcuts.

不僅僅是我們大腦走捷徑的錯。

Every map you've ever seen

你見過的所有地圖

has been, in some way, distorted from reality.

在某種程度上，已經與現實發生了扭曲。

For instance, many of us grew up

比如說，我們很多人從小到大

with maps in school that showed Greenland

在學校裡有顯示格陵蘭的地圖

to be about the same size as South America.

要和南美洲差不多大。

In reality, however, South America

但實際上，南美洲

is more than eight times larger than Greenland.

是格陵蘭的8倍多。

Similarly, most maps make it impossible

同樣，大多數地圖也讓人無法

to see that Brazil is larger

看到巴西是更大的

than the contiguous United States,

比美國毗連區。

and only slightly smaller than Canada.

而只比加拿大略小。

Or that Alaska is actually smaller than Libya.

或者說，阿拉斯加其實比利比亞還小。

Now, how is it possible that maps can be so misleading?

現在，地圖怎麼會有這麼大的誤導性呢？

The answer lies in the impossibility of representing

答案在於不可能代表

a three-dimensional object, the Earth,

一個三維物體，地球。

in only two-dimensions, a map.

在只有二維的情況下，一張地圖。

While a globe can accurately represent

雖然地球儀可以準確地代表

relative positions, sizes,

相對位置、大小。

and distances on the Earth's surface without issue,

和地球表面的距離沒有問題。

compromises must be made

勢在必行

when trying to flatten an orb into a map.

當試圖將一個球體平鋪到地圖上時。

Cartographers, people who make maps,

製圖師，就是做地圖的人。

have developed various methods

五花八門

of depicting the round Earth

繞地球一圈

on a flat surface called projections.

在一個平面上稱為投影。

Each of these projections represents the earth accurately,

這些投影都準確地代表了地球。

in some way, while distorting the planet in others.

在某些方面，而在其他方面扭曲了地球。

For instance, one of the most common projections

例如，其中一個最常見的預測是

is the Mercator projection.

是墨卡託投影。

Introduced in 1569 by Gerardus Mercator.

1569年由Gerardus Mercator引入。

Mercator maps are found in classrooms around the world,

世界各地的教室裡都有墨卡托地圖。

and it's even the projection used by Google maps.

甚至是谷歌地圖使用的投影。

Mercator's goal in developing his projection

墨卡託在發展他的投影方面的目標。

was to aid in navigation.

是為了幫助導航。

Any angle on the globe is the same angle on a Mercator map,

地球儀上的任何角度在墨卡托地圖上都是相同的角度。

which assured navigators

這保證了航海者的安全

that they were heading towards their intended destination

他們正朝著他們的目的地前進

in the days before GPS.

在GPS之前的日子裡。

As a result, however, the relative sizes and shapes

然而，結果是，相對的尺寸和形狀是什麼？

of continents on Mercator maps are distorted.

墨卡托地圖上的各大洲都被扭曲了。

Especially for land nearer to the poles.

特別是對於離極地較近的土地。

As you move further away from the equator,

當你離赤道越遠。

the Mercator projection shows land taking up more area

墨卡託投影顯示，土地佔用面積更大

than it actually does on Earth.

比地球上的實際情況要好。

This is why Antarctica looks so large,

這就是為什麼南極洲看起來這麼大。

while in reality being the third smallest continent.

而實際上是第三小洲。

As a result, Mercator projections

是以，墨卡託預測

tend to portray northern countries, such as those in Europe,

傾向於描繪北方國家，如歐洲的國家。

as being larger than they actually are.

作為比實際大的。

Remember how north London actually is?

還記得倫敦北部到底是怎樣的嗎？

Some scholars maintain that these countries magnification

有學者認為，這些國家放大了

has contributed to imperialist mindset.

助長了帝國主義思潮。

Essentially allowing small European countries

基本上允許歐洲小國

to inflate their position on the world.

以誇大其對世界的地位。

While the Mercator is one of the most commonly found around

雖然墨卡託是身邊最常見的一種。

and of the world,

和世界的。

it is far from the only projection available.

它遠不是唯一的投影。

Each, like the Mercator,

每個人，都像墨卡託一樣。

has it's own benefits and drawbacks.

有其自身的好處和弊端。

None is considered more correct than any other.

沒有一個人被認為比其他任何一個人更正確。

They're all trying to solve the same impossible problem.

他們都在試圖解決同一個不可能的問題。

Converting something from three-dimensions to two.

將某物從三維轉換為二維。

The only representation of Earth

地球的唯一代表

that doesn't make any comprises, a globe.

那不做任何包含，全球。

Apart from mental shortcuts and distorted projections,

除了心理捷徑和扭曲的投射。

there's another reason why your mental map may be false.

還有另一個原因，你的心智圖可能是假的。

You've been intentionally lied to.

你是故意被騙的。

Before satellites were taking high resolution photos

在衛星拍攝高分辨率照片之前

of all the Earth's surfaces 24-hours a day,

每天24小時對地球所有表面進行監測。

making a map was a painstaking job.

製作地圖是一項艱苦的工作。

If you spent a ton of time and resources making a map,

如果你花了大量的時間和資源製作一張地圖。

you needed ways to ensure people wouldn't copy your work

你需要確保人們不會抄襲你的作品的方法。

and sell it themselves as their own map.

並自己作為自己的地圖出售。

One way to do this was

一種方法是

by putting intentional errors in maps called trap streets.

通過在地圖中放故意錯誤，稱為陷阱街。

For instance, if you were mapping your hometown

例如，如果你要繪製你的家鄉的地圖

and included a made up street, nothing serious,

幷包括了一條編造的街道，沒什麼大不了的。

maybe just a fictional cul-de-sac in the corner of town,

也許只是一個虛構的死衚衕 在城市的角落。

and that same fake cul-de-sac

還有那條假死衚衕

appeared in a competitor's map,

出現在競爭對手的地圖中。

you could be confident they had stolen your map.

你可以確信他們偷了你的地圖。

According to the grandson of the former president and CEO,

據前總裁兼CEO的孫子。

Thomas Brothers Maps would put fake streets

托馬斯兄弟地圖會把假街道

of people's kids' names, pets' names in little cul-de-sacs,

的人的孩子的名字，寵物的名字 在小死衚衕裡。

and that was one way we would be able to keep the copyright.

而這也是我們能夠保持版權的一種方式。

One of the most common descriptions of map making

最常見的地圖製作的描述之一是

is that it is both an art and a science.

是，它既是一門藝術，也是一門科學。

Historians hypothesize that human consciousness

歷史學家假設，人類的意識

has always had an impulse to try to cognitively map

一直以來，我們都有一種衝動，想要嘗試認知圖譜

and relate to our physical surroundings,

並與我們的物理環境有關。

and while human brains

而人類的大腦

may instinctively have an impulse to map,

可能會本能地有一種映射的衝動。

the practice is by no means an innate skill,

修行絕不是天生的技能。

leading to many distortions

導致很多扭曲

in how we mentally believe the world is laid out.

在我們心理上認為世界是如何佈局的。

It's important to keep in mind how,

重要的是要記住如何。

just like the projections of globes onto maps,

就像地球儀在地圖上的投影一樣。

the way we view our surroundings

我們對周圍環境的看法

is only one of many valid interpretations.

這只是許多有效的解釋之一。

Sometimes, when you feel lost in the world,

有時候，當你感到迷失在這個世界上。

changing perspectives may be just what you need

換個角度看問題也許正是你所需要的

to find your way.

找到自己的方向。

(upbeat piano music)

(歡快的鋼琴曲)